In his homily this morning, the Pope prayed and re-echoed his message when he said, “All of us are called to be free, all are called to be sons and daughters and each, according to his or her own responsibilities, is called to combat modern forms of enslavement.From every people, culture and religion, let us join our forces,” Said Pope Francis.Human trafficking is referred to as modern day slavery.It may be in the shadows but its presence cannot be ignored.It is clear Pope Francis has in mind the many migrants who are lured from developing countries to Europe or to the Middle East with promises of fake jobs.

Many of Africa’s young women and men have been lied to and have found themselves trafficked, trapped and enslaved.The women and girls are ensnared and are forced into prostitution or traded as sex slaves.In many cases, the traffickers are known and trusted persons or even relatives.No doubt the Holy Father is also thinking of those who are held in what has come to be known as debt bondage.A person becomes a bonded labourer when they are forced to work as a means of repayment for a loan.Experts say that traffickers always find a way of making those trafficked perpetually indebted to them.